One of the most dysfunctional couples in the history of children’s fiction, The Twits, are starring in a new children’s game for smartphones and tablets.

Roald Dahl’s Twit or Miss, due for release on Thursday, is the first in a planned series of apps based on the author’s back catalogue, released by the Dahl estate and publisher Penguin Random House.

“One of the areas our kids audience expects to find Roald Dahl is in the digital space, so it’s very exciting to be able to work with Penguin to bring the stories to life through apps,” said John Collins, brand marketing director for the Roald Dahl Literary Estate.

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Twit or Miss is a free game for Apple and for Android devices developed by Aardman Digital, with animation inspired by the original book’s illustrations by Quentin Blake. It involves deflecting food spat out by Mr Twit before it hits his sleeping wife.

Children score points for tasks including hitting him in the eye or plopping items into his cup, with other references to the book including worms to squash, bird pies to splat, and a mugwump monkey spreading sticky glue on the ceiling.

“It’s the Roald Dahl centenary next year, so a good chance to start building up the stories’ presence in the digital environment,” said Jemma Kamara, digital producer at Penguin Random House. “Kids are spending more time using digital content, and The Twits is a really nice way of starting that journey.”

She added that the game is an attempt to reach children who may not be aware of The Twits, as well as those who are already familiar with the original book (and some of their parents).

The Twits was first published in 1980, although it remains popular among modern children, scoring highly in Dundee University’s What Kids Are Reading study of the most popular books in British primary schools earlier this year.

“The stories are timeless and universal, and we can see that the books are still as popular as ever both at home and in schools. But children expect to engage with brands in a different way in different areas, so it’s vital that we continue to take the stories and characters to our audiences in different places,” said Collins.

“The important thing is that apps are not a contrivance: apps are a great fit for Roald Dahl’s characters and stories, because there is such a rich vein of story elements, characters and environments. This is not a one-off app: it is the first of many that we are intending to develop. We’ll be able to do games, but also educational learning apps.”

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Kamara said that a second Dahl app will launch later in 2015. “Then next year we’ll continue expanding the portfolio around Roald Dahl, choosing a different character, and that will probably continue for the next 3-5 years,” she said.

“He has so many characters and stories, and they cover quite a broad range of ages from The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me for toddlers through to Going Solo for tweens and early teens. There’s a broad spectrum of stories and universes we can play with.”

The new apps will sit alongside the official Roald Dahl website, ebooks available through major retailers including Amazon, Apple and Google, and an audiobooks app for Apple’s iOS devices that is being promoted within the iOS version of the Twit or Miss game.

“The key thing for Roald Dahl is that he was really keen that children enjoyed his stories. The medium through which those stories are told was not of concern. It is really about children enjoying the stories and engaging with them,” said Collins.

“If that is happening, whether it’s through apps, ebooks or traditional reading, I would imagine he would approve. He was passionate about telling stories: it was not about writing books. Everything we do, whether it’s TV, musicals, a movie or digital, is about engaging children with narrative.”

Arguments about the growing role “screen time” is playing in children’s media habits have been raging since Dahl was alive: the character of Mike Teavee in 1964’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a jab at children’s growing television viewing.

“That was about the perils of television, but for Roald Dahl it wasn’t about the technology itself. It was about the length of time that children engaged with it. From a contemporary point of view, it is all about balance,” said Collins.

“It’s a very subjective area, whether using technology to engage children with literature is a good or bad thing. There’s no right or wrong: it’s purely opinion. But if you can use technology for an educational perspective, like reading or writing, that’s where children are at now. It’s what they expect, but if you can use the traditional methods, that’s fantastic as well.”

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Twit or Miss is a game, but the Dahl estate and Penguin hope that if it proves popular – and being free with no in-app purchases should help in that regard – it will build an audience that may be interested in engaging with more educational apps based on the books.

“I haven’t met any kid that only does one thing, or has one preferred form of media. They always jump from device to device, and on to physical objects like books and toys,” said Kamara, on the screen-time debate.

“There’s always another way they can play and tell stories and make-believe. I genuinely don’t believe any one media is going to blast in and wipe everything else out.”

“I grew up with Roald Dahl stories, and my children have grown up with them as well. It’s really important that every generation coming through finds a way to engage with them, and pass them on,” added Collins.

“There will always be a place for good storytelling, whatever the technology around it is.”